


Regret

by aravenwood



Series: Febuwhump '19 [22]
Category: The Musketeers (2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Detectives, Alternate Universe - Modern Setting, Amnesia, Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-22
Updated: 2019-02-22
Packaged: 2019-11-03 23:36:09
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,246
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17887268
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/aravenwood/pseuds/aravenwood
Summary: "Just...just wait in the car, alright? We'll be back soon but you need to stay here. Alright?"There was no time to consider that head injury or not, this was Aramis and he wasn't just going to sit in the car and wait. He'd never been that kind of person.Written for the Febuwhump '19 prompt "regret".





	Regret

**Author's Note:**

> Heyyyyyy! So...hi. I know, I know, the cliffhanger from the last part of the Hard Headed series was cruel, I admit that. And admittedly, there were a few days where I sat and thought "ok, that's it. That's the series done." But that would be cruel.
> 
> I came up for an idea for a sequel, which is veeeeery slow going. So in the meantime, consider this as a little extra peek into this universe. This is set sort of...mid-sequel, I think, so a little bit after Aramis is released from the hospital.
> 
> Until then, enjoy this little glimpse into how the guys are doing after Aramis's head injury!

"Just...just wait in the car, alright? We'll be back soon but you need to stay here. Alright?"

It was a slip up, the first time Athos had ever talked to Aramis like he was anything but himself. He'd barely had time to think about what he was saying or who he was talking to - but in his head, he was just talking to another civilian who shouldn't be getting involved and who was supposed to stay where it was safe.

Even as he slammed the car door shut behind him and headed in the direction of the gunshots, his mind was in full detective mode. Nothing else was important but finding out what was going on and stopping it before someone got hurt. There was no time to consider what he'd just said or who he'd just spoken to. There was no time to consider that head injury or not, this was Aramis and he wasn't just going to sit in the car and wait. He'd never been that kind of person.

That was his biggest mistake.

From what he could tell, Aramis really had tried to help. As Porthos called to the gunman and tried to convince him to give in and drop the weapon, Athos had spotted their younger colleague in the background. He'd managed to sneak behind and reach the hostages, who he was ushering back the way he'd come all the while staring at the gunman with narrowed eyes. His fists were clenched tight, his entire body tense but his eyes hyperfocused.

But he wasn't moving. Even as the last of the hostages disappeared he didn't even try to follow them, just glared at the gunman's head as if daring him to turn around. It was the kind of thing the old Aramis would have done - the Aramis who remembered his police training, remembered that he had back-up he could trust, the Aramis who was armed to defend himself if he needed to. This Aramis though...he was defenceless.

"Put the gun down, you're only making things worse for yourself," Porthos called to the gunman in a low, steady voice. There was nothing in the way he held himself that told Athos that he'd seen Aramis but there was no way he hadn't, not with the other man so close now.

The gunman flinched and shook his head violently. "I'm not doing it, I'm not listening to you. Don't you understand, I'm in charge here, I have THEM and that means you aren't going to shoot me!" the gunman snapped, but it was clear that even he didn't believe the words he'd just said. His voice was cracking all over the place, his eyes wild and his face glistening with sweat. He was unstable, and that meant that he was especially dangerous and unpredictable.

Why hadn't Aramis stayed in the car?

"We're not going to shoot you, not as long as you do what we tell you. And right now we're telling you to put down the gun. Put it down and we can talk," Athos reasoned. He didn't lower his own gun but he shifted his grip on it a little, more for show than anything else - and his little show seemed to have worked because the gunman paled even further as he watched Athos with his gun, beads of sweat dripping from the tip of his nose. One eye twitched as his eyes darted between Athos and his gun, panic building until his entire body was shaking and he looked like he would crack at any moment.

But instead of buckling under the pressure and lowering his gun, the gunman turned around and pointed it at Aramis.

From the way he jumped and his aim wavered for a split second, it was clear that he hadn’t expected his hostages to be gone and replaced by a single man – a man who all of a sudden looked unsteady on his feet and lost all the colour in his face. The police instincts which had guided Aramis so far were gone, replaced by the terror of a civilian in the wrong place at the wrong time. Despite everything, Athos couldn’t help but feel disappointed – there was a small part of him that had hoped that being back in the field doing exactly what he had done so often before would bring back his memory and return him to the man they had known. But all it had done was remind them of how vulnerable he was.

“Put it down,” Porthos growled, only a hint of anger in his voice. He widened his stance and adjusted his aim so that he was locked on to the gunman’s head. “I’m not messing around. Drop your weapon and let the hostage go, you’re making things worse for yourself.”

“I’m the one making it worse? I don’t know what trick you’re pulling here but it isn’t going to work! I don’t care how many hostages I have, I’m still gonna shoot one if you don’t let me go!” The gunman was edging closer and closer to hysteria, a fact that even Aramis seemed to be aware of as he shot Athos a look that was supposed to be determined but only succeeded in looking even more frightened. Athos was proud of Aramis for trying to hold up the façade, for trying to keep calm even when he was panicking.

Athos coughed to get the gunman’s attention. “You only have one hostage. Think about it – you shoot him and you lose the only bargaining chip you have, and then what happens? Well, we have no reason not to shoot you so I’ll tell you now that’s exactly what we’re going to do. Is that what you want?”

Panic crossed the gunman’s expression and the grip on his gun wavered. It all happened in the space of a second but a second was all Porthos needed. “Get down!” he shouted to Aramis, who dropped to the floor and curled up in a ball with his hands curled over his head. At the same time Porthos raised his gun and fired, sending a bullet straight into the gunman’s leg. The man cried out and fell, the gun falling from his hand and skittering across the ground, coming to a stop only inches from Aramis’s head.

“Get Aramis!” Porthos called as he rushed to the gunman and cuffed his arms behind his back, then gestured for the paramedics to join him.

Athos’s first port of call was the gun. With the safety off and the gun loaded, the fact that it hadn’t gone off upon hitting the ground was some kind of miracle. A miracle he wasn’t about to dwell on as he disarmed the gun and tucked it into his belt, then placed a hand on Aramis’s back. The other man hadn’t moved since hitting the ground, but Athos could feel fine tremors wracking his frame. “It’s over,” he reassured, rubbing small circles on Aramis’s back with his fingers.

Aramis shifted and slowly lifted his head, blinking owlishly. “I…I shouldn’t have left the car,” he whispered. “I’m meant to be a detective but I…I’m not ready. I’m sorry.”

“Don’t be,” said Athos without a second thought. “Don’t be sorry. You just…tried too hard too fast. Remember what the doctor said, it’ll come back eventually. You’re still a detective, you just need time.”

If he was honest, Athos wasn’t sure who he was trying to convince.

**Author's Note:**

> Thanks for reading!


End file.
